El Nuvoton NuMicro M2L31 is a family of microcontrollers with a powerful Arm Cortex-M23 core and a unique memory function. It is one of the first to use ReRAM, a type of fast and durable memory. These microcontrollers are designed for low power consumption and a wide range of applications, from industrial automation to motor control.
Also, that ReRAM is what makes them really interesting and special compared to other similar products. An extremely complete board for its size, and with industrial applications and other types of projects, given its richness and versatility. You want to know why?
Technical specifications of the Nuvoton NuMicro M2L31
As for the The technical specifications of this NuvoTon module, the truth is that you can find different variants, with different sizes of ReRAM memory, and everything available from the same NuvoTon official website for a price starting at $36:
- Microcontroller
- Arm Cortex-M23 with single core @ 72 Mhz
- Conference proceedings
- From 40KB to 512KB of embedded ReRAM
- Up to 168KB SRAM with 40KB for parity checking
- Independent 4/8 KB low-power SRAM
- 8KB LDROM
- 4x eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) regions
- 4x Memory Protection Unit (MPU) regions
- Peripheral connectors
- USB ports
- USB 2.0 OTG/Host/Device with 1024 byte buffer
- Compatible with USB-C (Rev.2.1) and for charging
- Up to 8x UART interfaces with LIN and IrDA
- 1x low-power UART interface
- Up to 2x USCI (UART / SPI / I²C)
- Up to 4x I2C + 1x low-power I2C (400 kbps)
- Up to 4x SPI/I2S (max. 36 MHz) + 1x Low Power SPI (max. 12 MHz)
- 1x Quad Serial Peripheral Interface (QSPI)
- Up to 1x External Bus Interface (EBI)
- Up to 2x CAN FD controllers
- Up to 16x touch keys with single scan or programmable period, 5V
- USB ports
- Analogical
- Integrated reference voltage control
- Integrated temperature sensor
- 1x 12-bit SAR ADC up to 24 channels of 3.42 MSPS
- Up to 2x DAC (12-bit, 1 MSPS buffered)
- 3x 6-bit DAC rail-to-rail comparators
- Up to 3x op amps
- Control interface
- Voltage Adjustable Interface (VAI)
- Up to 2x Enhanced Quadrature Encoder Interfaces (EQEI)
- Up to 2x input Enhanced Input Capture timers (ECAP)
- PDMA
- Up to 16 channels for DMA peripherals
- Security features
- Cyclic Redundancy Calculation Unit
- 128/192/256-bit AES encryption
- True random number generator (TRNG)
- Pseudo-random number generator (PRNG)
- Up to 3x Tamper pins
- Timers
- 32x PWM outputs
- 4x 24-bit timers, support for an independent PWM output
- 12x Enhanced PWM (EPWM) with twelve 16-bit counters, and up to 72 MHz for the clock source
- 12x PWM with six 16-bit timers, up to 144 MHz for clock source
- 2x 24-bit low consumption timers
- 2x Tick Timers
- 1x 24-bit SysTick countdown timer
- Watchdog
- Window watchdog
- clock signals
- Crystal oscillator (Xtal) from 4 to 32 MHz
- 32.768 kHz oscillator for RTC clock
- Internal 12 MHz RC oscillator with ±2% deviation at -40~105°C
- Internal 48 MHz RC oscillator with ±2.5% deviation at -40~105°C
- 1~8 MHz internal MIRC with ±10% deviation at -40~105°C
- Internal 32 kHz RC oscillator with ±10% deviation
- Internal PLL up to 144 MHz
- Working Voltage
- From 1.71V to 3.6V
- Consumption
- Normal: 60 μA/MHz @ 72 MHz
- IDLE mode: 33μA/MHz @ 25°C/3.0V, with all peripherals off
- NPD w/o power gating (NPD2 mode): 55 uA, @ 25°C/3.0V
- NPD w/ power gating (NPD4 mode): 9 uA, @ 25°C/3.0V
- SPD w/ 40KB retention in SRAM: 1.7 uA, @ 25°C/3.0V
- DPD: 0.54uA @ 25°C/3.0V, with RTC and LXT off
- Choice of chip packaging (each available with different ReRAM capacities):
- WLCSP 25 (2.5×2.5mm)
- QFN32 (5x5mm)
- LQFP48 (7x7mm)
- QFN 48 (5x5mm)
- WLCSP 49 (3x3mm)
- LQFP64 (7x7mm)
- LQFP128 (14×14mm)
- Supported working temperature range
- From -40°C to +105°C
What is ReRAM? Because it's interesting?
La ReRAM (Resistive Random-Access Memory) is a type of non-volatile (NV) memory that works by changing the resistance of a solid-state dielectric material. This technology is presented as an alternative to traditional flash memories, such as NAND Flash and DRAM, offering several advantages:
- Speed- ReRAM offers very fast read and write speeds, even faster than DRAM. This is because it does not require a page erase operation before writing, as traditional flash memories do.
- Durability- Has greater resistance to write and erase cycles than traditional flash memories. This means it can sustain more writes before failing, making it ideal for applications that require frequent data updates and reliability.
- Low energy consumption- Consumes less power than traditional flash memories, both in reading and writing modes. This makes it a good choice for battery or solar-powered applications.
However, it must be said that this type of memory is quite expensive and is in a fairly early stage of development. Mainly used for MCU-based devices like this one, and in industrial or other applications. But it is not a memory in a mature stage to be used in computers...